When machines decide who gets through the door, being good isn't enough anymore\I had to make an investment for my parents yesterday. It took me a millisecond and I thought "Xavier." He's part of a group of entrepreneurs that just started an investment fund. I reached out to him immediately, he replied, 100k minimum investment. I didn't doubt his expertise or the minimum threshold. He had demonstrated his expertise substantially lately across platforms. I even discussed it with AI, ChatGPT in this case. It was basically a done deal, we could move ahead.
He has been doing this for maybe 1-2 years, but still, I trusted him. Why? His visibility and demonstrated expertise. In my mind he is top of mind for investments now.
On the other hand, I have a friend who's an insurance broker, the type you can buy investment insurance products from like life insurances... at least that's what I think, I am not sure. I've known him for 2 decades, he's been doing this forever. He won investment competitions and even got to ring the opening bell once of one or another stock exchange.
He publishes some content to demonstrate his expertise from time to time but not in the right way, not in a coherent way, not in a demonstrating way. He wasn't top of mind at all with me. Doing business with him would require me to be convinced for hours. ChatGPT doesn't know him. His perceived value is a lot lower although his expertise is SUBSTANTIALLY bigger than that of "Xavier."
Isn't that interesting? Starting to get the picture?
Two Visibility Problems for Modern Professionals
There are actually two distinct challenges at play here:
- Human Visibility: Being top of mind for your expertise through demonstrated competence. This makes you the first person someone thinks of when they need what you offer. I'll tackle this topic in another article.
- AI Visibility: Ensuring your professional footprint is optimized for algorithmic evaluation and verification. This determines whether you'll pass through AI gatekeepers that increasingly control access to opportunities.
This article focuses specifically on the second challenge - AI visibility - because it's rapidly becoming the prerequisite for the first. If algorithms can't find you, humans won't either.
The AI Gatekeeper Reality
Artificial intelligence is fundamentally changing how professional credibility gets evaluated.
AI systems now act as pre-filters for professional opportunities. Not making the final decisions - serving as the bouncers who determine if humans ever consider you in the first place.
Think about how this works: When someone wants to verify your credentials, what happens? An algorithm scans everything it can access about you online in fractions of a second.
Your digital profile. Article history. Speaking events. Media mentions. Conference participation. Code repositories if you're technical. Newsletter archives. Social media footprint.
When the algorithm finds insufficient data, you're filtered out before a human evaluates your actual qualifications.
This isn't some future scenario. It's happening now.
Modern email platforms deploy AI to analyze incoming messages and assess sender credibility before displaying them. Scheduling tools incorporate reputation verification before offering appointment slots. Recruiting software screens candidates' online presence before human recruiters see their applications.
Once you start noticing this pattern, you see it everywhere. AI isn't replacing human judgment - it's determining who gets judged at all.
Digital Visibility vs. Digital Invisibility
Let's return to my two friends.
Xavier has built his online presence methodically. His content follows a coherent strategy. Demonstrates real expertise. Showcases his thought process. Establishes credibility through regular contributions. He is human, sounds human and I connect with him.
My insurance broker friend has objectively superior qualifications. Award-winning performance. Stock exchange recognition. Decades of industry experience. But his online activity is scattered. No coherent narrative. No strategic demonstration of his knowledge areas. He doesn't feel human, nor does he sound human nor do I connect with him (He is still a close friend though (sorry buddy)).
Here's the technical problem: Algorithms can't properly evaluate experience unless it's documented systematically online. Can't accurately measure awards and recognitions unless they're prominently featured across your digital presence. Can't assess expertise you've demonstrated in person but not online.
If algorithms can't verify it through digital signals, to the AI, it simply doesn't register.
How AI Evaluates Professional Credibility
The systems performing these evaluations aren't particularly sophisticated yet. They search for specific indicators:
Temporal relevance - Have you published content recently? Spoken at events lately? Contributed to discussions in your field? If your digital trail fades out after a certain date, you're flagged as potentially inactive.
Regular presence - Single viral moments carry limited weight. Algorithms look for patterns of sustained activity over time. Do you maintain a consistent digital presence that can be tracked?
External verification - Have established platforms published your content? Have you received speaking invitations? Do industry sources reference your work? Self-published content helps, but third-party validation carries more algorithmic weight.
Interaction quality - Beyond basic metrics, algorithms assess the nature of engagement with your content. Substantive comments, responses, and shares from accounts with their own credibility scores. Quality of engagement outweighs quantity.
Platform relevance - Where does your digital presence exist? Personal websites with minimal traffic? Limited value. Industry publications? Professional forums? Established podcast appearances? These carry substantially more algorithmic weight.
The underlying question algorithms ask: Can we confirm this person's claimed expertise through diverse digital verification, and do other verified entities acknowledge this expertise?
AI as Both Filter and Enabler
The ironic twist is that AI plays dual roles in this emerging landscape:
As Filter: Screening out professionals lacking sufficient digital verification
- Email algorithms prioritizing or deprioritizing messages
- Recruitment systems filtering candidates before human review
- Calendar applications evaluating meeting requesters
- Investment platforms scoring founder credibility
As Enabler: Helping establish the visibility needed to pass these same filters
- Content creation assistance
- Distribution optimization
- Audience targeting refinement
- Digital presence analysis
The very technology that might exclude you from opportunities can help you become visible enough to access them. Unfortunately, most professionals only recognize this after they've already been filtered out. They see the importance of it, they just lack the time and skills to address the matter. That's why we help them do exactly that at Ripple.
The Expertise-Visibility Paradox
This creates a strange reality where digital visibility sometimes matters more than actual expertise - at least for initial consideration.
Traditional professional credentials are losing algorithmic value. Prestigious degrees. Years at respected firms. Senior titles at recognized organizations.
These still matter to humans making final decisions. But to algorithms determining who reaches those humans, they're just data points requiring digital verification through multiple online sources.
If you've spent decades developing expertise without creating corresponding digital evidence, algorithms start you at zero regardless of your actual qualifications. Meanwhile, someone with modest real-world credentials but comprehensive digital presence passes the initial filters.
My insurance broker friend likely possesses far greater knowledge and experience. But when I needed investment advice, Xavier appeared in my mind immediately. When algorithms evaluate financial expertise, Xavier exists prominently in their assessment. My other friend barely registers.
Despite his genuine expertise, he faces a massive disadvantage in the modern professional landscape.
The Algorithmic Audit
Here's the uncomfortable reality most professionals resist acknowledging: Your expertise is functionally irrelevant if algorithms cannot find digital evidence confirming it.
Not morally irrelevant. Not actually irrelevant. But practically irrelevant in a world where algorithmic evaluation increasingly controls access to opportunities.
Try this experiment: Search your name online. Then ask an AI system what it knows about your professional background. What information appears? What would an algorithm conclude about your expertise?
Be brutally honest with yourself. Are you effectively invisible to algorithms? Are you visible but sending inconsistent or outdated signals? Or have you built a coherent digital footprint that accurately reflects your expertise?
Most professionals fall into one of two categories:
- Assuming their offline reputation automatically transfers to digital evaluation without deliberate action
- Creating random digital content without a strategic approach to expertise demonstration
Building meaningful algorithmic visibility isn't about superficial "personal branding." It's about creating a comprehensive digital infrastructure for your expertise that both humans and algorithms can navigate and verify.
This requires a multilayered, multidimensional approach. Not because I'm trying to use fancy terms - I'm not particularly fancy myself. But because this accurately describes how algorithms evaluate professional credibility.
In most cases, the expertise absolutely exists - it's just algorithmically invisible.
The Algorithmic Visibility Decision
AI gatekeepers are already operational. The question isn't whether this development is positive - it's whether you'll adapt to it or be filtered out.
You can possess exceptional expertise that remains invisible to algorithms, or you can develop the visibility necessary to showcase your expertise to both algorithms and the humans beyond them.
Your choice. But algorithmic visibility is rapidly becoming non-optional.
Laurent Terrijn
Cofounder of Ripple, Founder of Lumexa